


blue jeans and yellow tickseeds

by jonetingz



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: 60s AU, Alternate Universe - Greasers, Alternate Universe - Hippies, Boys In Love, Comfort/Angst, Drive-Ins, F/M, First Meetings, Flower Child Wonpil, Flowers, Fluff, Greaser Brian, Happy Ending, Harassment, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Love at First Sight, M/M, Making Out, Peace, Pining, Racism, Slow Burn, Songfic, brian is just really interested in pillie, inspired by s.e. hinton, its really minor though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-07-15 10:37:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16061363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jonetingz/pseuds/jonetingz
Summary: brian never really dug hippies.





	1. dowoon is the best character episode one

**Author's Note:**

> hey! i recently had the FATTEST idea to write a that was then this is now/outsiders au for day6.. a friend of mine actually made me fall in love with youngfeel and ever since then they’ve been super high on my day6 otps. i really hope you enjoy this because i’m writing this instead of sleeping so ill be posting the rest of it later if i can. ily all
> 
> i’ll edit this when i can

 

 

 

 

 

brian never really dug hippies.

 

 

 

they were too quiet, too on the low. they smoked a lot of grass. they liked people like brian even if his group would go over and beat their poor souls up from time to time. they all drove in this big volkswagen, and hung out in these big houses that the police didn’t offer to check. they were peace induced, not that brian minded, but it kinda made him sick to think about how they wouldn’t hate at least someone. they tried to spread as much love as they could, and brian sometimes wanted to punch them for that.

 

but jae liked them, though.

 

he was fascinated by them. he hung out with them sometimes, and even refused to beat any of them. he said he didn’t like living that way. brian and dowoon respected that. they didn’t really get jae at first, but now dowoon was starting to sponge off from jae. dowoon began riding those giant vehicles with jae after school, and would travel who knows where. brian had a lot of similarities with his two closest friends, but hippies weren’t one of them.

 

 

“do you have an extra?” jae asked, opening his hand out to brian as he fished a lighter out of his pocket.

 

“no, sorry bud.” the brunet answered, jae wiping his blonde hair out of his eyes while scoffing. “ran out this morning.”

 

“i have an extra pack at my house, anyway.” dowoon spoke up, flipping through a comic that didn’t look all too interesting. “a cute chick gave me one for being nice.”

 

dowoon joked around, putting on a small smirk which could mean a million different things. brian didn’t want to dwell on the topic, though. the trio made their way out of the convenience store swiftly, not really intending to leave the main part of town. they still wanted to head to dowoon’s old man’s house, but they just wanted to hang around before heading up.

 

brian liked watching people walk around his town. they were all different, most kids of his area mostly asian or some other race, as he lived in a pretty bad spot of town. there were a few clean kids around, but they lived in the real nice part of town. they were kinda hard to tell apart now, since they all liked to wear old clothing.

 

that takes us back to the first topic, and jae was making jokes about how he went drinking with the hippies one time. there were tons of them walking down the street, and brian felt like he, jae, and dowoon were the only hoods. the walkers were all wearing bright colors and clothes that looked a couple years worn. to brian, their outfits weren’t too bad, but they still didn’t stick the right way with him.

 

they all had flowers or some type of plant in their long hair. brian wondered if they even knew what type of flower it was. the streets were in between busy and quiet, and the sun was shining brightly that day. chicks were sitting in their corvettes, sharing candy and talking loudly than ever. brian was known to be observant, that was probably the reason why he had alright grades.

 

“bri,” jae said. “i asked you a question.”

 

sometimes he could be a little too observant.

 

“what’s up, hyung?”

 

“you got work today?” the older asked, looking around the town to find something down the road. brian didn’t know what he was looking at, but it was none of his business unless told so.

 

“no. why?” brian looked in the taller’s direction, and saw nothing but a beat up car driving by with a few hoods they knew in it. they were probably going to mess with the chicks in the corvette, something he used to do when he was younger. except now he was a senior in high school, and over the phase of trying to figure things about himself. he didn’t really find enjoyment in teasing girls anymore. he just liked picking them up and driving them around, usually.

 

“i need to do a ton of shit this weekend and i would like for you both to come with me.” jae announced, “we’ll be going out of town and probably be driving around a lot. that’a why i asked dowoon if he had extra packs.”

 

“why would we need extra packs?” dowoon asked.

 

“‘cause i’ve never really driven out of town and i need to meet up with a few people. they’re all pretty shady, too. i don’t want to get stressed or anything.”

 

brian nodded at that, as jae was always thought before he did things. he wondered why jae wouldn’t tell them what crazy business he had to do this weekend, but the brunet had a feeling it had to do with hippies. it always was the hippies. jae would probably trade stuff like money or drugs for some old thing they were holding to themselves. the blonde had a collection of things from hippies that were given to him, and they were usually from trades they did often. stupid things like medals, old flowers, comics, anything that a flower child could get their hands on.

 

“wait,” dowoon approached, looking deep in thought. “why are we going out of town? there’s plenty of groovy joints around here.” the youngest seemed to guess the reason why jae was leaving, too.

 

“that’s the thing,” jae snapped his finger, turning around to face his friends. “i’ve already traded with everyone in this hellhole. a friend of mine told me about some really nice places out of town, and i would like to visit them. they apparently have these really cool card collections.”

 

jae sounded like a total nerd then, but brian decided to jump in.

 

“maybe i could meet a nice chick,” brian suggested with a sluggish grin, “heard they’re tough.”

 

“no, dumbass.” jae scoffed, leaning into brian’s personal space a bit too close. “you ain’t heard nothing about those girls.”

 

brian could kind of guess what he meant, but as he was about to ask what he meant, dowoon asked one himself.

 

“aren’t you gay, though?”

 

he directed that one at brian, and the older was about to punch dowoon for asking that so loud, but only shrugged and continued walking.

 

“i don’t really care. as long as they are a real something.”

 

there was a small minute of silence after that.

 

“you’re really hopeless for love, bri.” jae said, making some disgusted expression twist on his face. “i don’t know how you get flings when you’re just a wise-cracker with a nice face.”

 

“i have a nice face now?” brian loved to boost his ego, maybe a little too much sometimes because jae then punched his shoulder a bit hard.

 

“you ain’t hearing anything.” jae threatened, but ended up smiling anyways.

 

 

 

 

the group slowly then drove back to dowoon’s place to gather some money, preparing to leave late tonight. they already filled their gas tank and brought more money for that, and brian’s mom also encouraged they brought snacks. brian remembered to tell his mother and sister he was traveling with jae and dowoon for a few days, meeting up with a few older friends now in college. brian’s mom was quick to comply, and the boy was glad his mom was so easy to convince. dowoon’s dad wasn’t home when they got to his house, so they were thankful they could possibly take some of his packs without his old man finding out. jae grabbed some things he could trade with the hippies, and they went to the diner before heading out for the drive. they wanted to be in some other area by early morning, and by late morning, they’ll be meeting up at hippie joints.

 

that was the initial plan, and right now jae was scribbling notes about key points.

 

the group of three always did some semi-big trip during the summer, and this seemed like the one for this year. just hitting up groovy homes and trading with hippies. brian could see why jae would be so fascinated by this, but it was a slight bore to the younger. as he said before, he didn’t really dig the flower children.

 

“so i told mr. jung i’ll do whatever essay he wants me to do by the end of summer so he won’t flunk me. i swear his grandpa ass has been tryna get me kicked out for years.” dowoon was being a bit talkative for a while, “i hate english.”

 

“alright, cool. but right now we need to continue working on the plan. and since i’m the leader, i’ll be creating all of the roles.” jae chewed obnoxiously on his fries, leaning into his two friends in the booth.

 

“bri, you’re shotgun. dowoon, you’ll be in the back to hold everything safe in the car. and because you’re more intimidating than the both of us, you can tell pedestrians to fuck off.” jae pointed, the youngest silently nodding at the orders.

 

“and you, bri—“

 

“wait, before you say anything.” brian held up one hand while lifting his coke with the other. “i’m not going with you to scout some hippies or some shit.”

 

jae didn’t approve. “why not?”

 

“because i don’t like being around them, is all. i’ll just patrol the car while you and dowoon go in and do your business or whatever.” the younger shrugged, and dowoon looked like he was considering this. not like it mattered, because it was jae’s decision in the end anyway.

 

after about a minute of thinking, jae looked brian dead in the eye. he looked a little cautious, and the other sort of felt like laughing at how serious his friend was when it came to this stuff.

 

“fine,” jae said slowly, squinting as if he was still thinking. brian sighed in relief, thankful that jae wouldn’t pester him anymore. but he guessed he underestimated, because the blonde suddenly brought something else up. “but on one condition.”

 

“what?” brian smiled, looking back at jae with that daring look in his sharp eyes.

 

“you have to meet a nice hippie chick. i don’t care if she’s under four feet tall or if she takes acid trips like no tomorrow. i just want you to stop blabbering about how you’re in need of love all the time. this isn’t some cheesy romance film.” jae dismissed his hand and took a sip of his icy coke.

 

brian did the same, making a noise in his throat before setting his bottle down a little obnoxiously. his face was smug over anything, always ready to take a challenge from jae. he may not like the flower children, but he sure can grab a nice one. maybe if she were cute, maybe if she didn’t smoke a lot. brian thought this would be a bit hard, but maybe the hippies out of town were better than the ones from around here.

 

“i’ll even take her to a drive-in in town, if that’s what you want. i’ll kiss her on the first outting.” brian smirked.

 

“woah, calm down there. i just want you to find a girl to go with. and she has to be a hippie. i know you don’t like them, so that’s exactly the reason why i’m so smart about this.” jae responded, feeling a bit full of himself.

 

“anything for you, park. whatever you say.” the brunet leaned back in his chair, finishing his coke in one large gulp. there was a pregnant pause, right before dowoon asked a question.

 

“but what if it’s a boy?” dowoon shrugged quietly, both of the others looking at him. jae squinted at him.

 

“what?”

 

brian ignored him, still facing dowoon.

 

“if he’s a real doll, i might just have to take one. i don’t really care.”

 

“trust me, bri. you won’t find any nancies around here. i swear you’re the only one around here that likes boys.”

 

“i seriously doubt that..” brian chuckled a bit, “some hippies are all about the gay shit these days. apparently it’s a way to express themselves... or something. it doesn’t matter anyways, i ain’t only scouting for boys.”

 

“ok.” jae shrugged, smiling to himself. “good luck with that chick though. you need to have one by next next saturday or you’re gonna be riding the volkswagen with me everyday after school.”

 

“then i better get one.” brian said to himself more than jae or dowoon, crossing his arms. “a real good one.”

 

 

 

 

they soon finished eating, all heading out of the diner to descend their ways to the car. they were all ready to get driving, and planning to stop in an empty area to sleep for a few hours. police usually didn’t stick around really late, so they thought of a way they could easily stay parked somewhere without getting towed. it was about ten pm when they all jumped into jae’s car, about to leave their hometown for a few days. since it was summer, and if jae wasn’t satisfied, they would stay up to a week or more. but brian wasn’t so sure about that, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to live with hippies for all that time. he hoped his friends wouldn’t turn into hippies. now that got his spine shivering in more ways than none.

 

jae sounded up the engine of the car to get it going a bit, just a side effect of it being old as hell. but as long as it drove, brian couldn’t care less.

 

the drive was silent for a while, dowoon with his legs stretched out and face towards the window, probably thinking about everything going on in life. brian could honestly relate, faintly listening to some betty everett song playing below the radar. dowoon was in brian and jae’s group since forever, ever since the two found him in an alleyway during a pretty shit rumble. they had seen dowoon around school, but they never really paid attention to him. he was quiet, though his face was sharp and he always had the same, still look on his face all the time. brian had only seen him smile a little more than three times of knowing him for so long. his bangs messily laid right above his eyes, the poor boy always too lazy to gel it or get it cut. it was thick and a little greasy, but it just added to dowoon’s whole character overall. his voice was a low baritone, one that surprised brian the first time he heard it. dowoon was just a quiet and intimidating guy on the outside, and he was a great person to balance both of jae and brian’s personalities well.

 

jae, on the other hand, was a little full of himself. he always strived to be different than most hoods, like by keeping some type of unpopular opinion and hanging out with flower children. he was all up for the protest things, and even supported some other things brian’s never really heard of. all three boys were big on colored rights, only because they got tons of shit from people as well as all of the others. jae, deep down, was a real nice guy even though he messed with broads more often than he should. him or brian usually led expeditions in the group, and they have been working as a team since they were kids. jae and brian weren’t very alike, but that just made them closer.

 

“turn this up, jae.” brian said over his own thoughts, hearing some big hit out right now in the charts. jae didn’t have to reply using words, but only turned the radio knob up higher so the group could all hear black is black by los bravos loud and clear.

 

brian also forgot to mention how he was a little into music. it was one of his hobbies besides being a smartass to random people and traveling around with friends, but it was something he inherited from his old man many years back. he never really acknowledged it before, but he took a small interest in singing. his friends and past flings would tell him he had a good voice, so he didn’t hesitate to sing along to the words of the song playing in the car right now. jae sang along too, and suddenly the whole night felt ten times more alive now that there was sound being heard.

 

brian remembered times he would drive around with jae and dowoon for hours when they were younger, picking up chicks and going to drive-ins with friends. and later on they would have a rumble or two with socs and then sleep over at his house after. those were when things were just starting to get good, and brian was looking back on those old days while he drove with his friends. nowadays, brian was inches away from being an adult and he had to start applying to colleges in a few months. he was already working one shitty job along with dowoon and jae, and he was glad all three of them didn’t have a criminal record. they all planned on going to the same college, no matter whatever tried to break them apart. now that brian thought more of it, he really did love his friends a lot.

 

“we’re coming close to a stop.” jae suddenly said after a couple songs wore out their voices a bit. “i think i’m gonna go use the bathroom and pick up a few snacks. we’ll hang out for a while and head to sleep. we’re not very far from a joint from here. my friend told me there was one around this area, and we should meet them by tomorrow morning.”

 

brian nodded at the plan. he was feeling good at the moment. though it was almost midnight, he was energized and excited for the adventure he was going on with his friends. right now the thought of him having to find a chick by the end of this didn’t seem so hard. but then again, he hadn’t met any of these hippies before. they could be even worse than the ones in his home town.

 

the thought was easily thrown to the back of his mind as he felt fatigue take over his body slowly, and before he knew jae came back, him and dowoon fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

morning came sooner than brian thought it would.

 

the sun was probably beating from the windshield right over brian’s face, and he was about to curse it out when he realized his surroundings. jae was driving down the road of some town the younger couldn’t identify, and he was in the back of the car. dowoon was already awake, conversing quietly with jae as they slowly drove through the unfamiliar town.

 

instead of breaking into their conversation, brian decided to help himself wake up by observing this town. it wasn’t as rundown as his own, and that made him a little sick. they must’ve been in a soc town, where most of the hippies were. brian noted how jae was smart about places, but being in a soc town got brian antsy. last time he was in a town like this was before hippies became a thing. it was when the hoods and socs were in some feud that’d been going on since forever. but once the peace protests came around, they all kinda liked each other and didn’t really fight anymore.

 

other than the town they were in, the sun was shining brightly that day. there was a cheerful and calm aspect to the town today, and brian could tell jae would be alright to collect a few things. brian just hoped they wouldn’t go to every single hippie joint they saw. that might take even longer than a week.

 

they were nearing the exit of the main part of town, and now were going to the more private neighborhoods. more trees and grass covered this area, and lots of green fields were around these houses. this area was probably where most poor and colored people lived, even though it was much nicer than brian’s old, rundown area.

 

“how long have you been driving, jae?” brian could’ve guessed that his friends knew that he was awake by now, and they both nodded in acknowledgment.

 

“about a half an hour.” jae simply answered.

 

so brian wasn’t asleep for that long, then. this place must’ve been only three hours away from home, at most. his friends just liked to take things slow, and they must’ve slept a long time before they left. he’s glad he woke up before they got to the first house, because he’s pretty sure hippies would watch him sleep. for some reason, that sounds like something they do to each other.

 

“we’re coming close to the first house.” dowoon said, and brian looked in the direction of where the younger was looking. in the distance he could see an old, rundown house. it looked admittedly different than the other houses, as it was painted bright colors that were starting to wear off on the sides. nonetheless, it screamed hippie. and the field of yellow flowers surrounding it looked neverending, and that just added to he whole scene as well. brian marveled at the sight of fields that stretched out after the house. they seemed unreal, but he guessed this was where a lot of farm land was. it was also probably an area where the fuzz wouldn’t check for drugs all too often. brian couldn’t care enough to think more about it, though. he just marveled at the sight of something that he’d never seen before.

 

“this is it, brothers.” jae announced, loud enough to break brian’s thoughts. he parked off the left side of the narrow road, the house across from it while next to other houses and flower fields. the eldest took in a long breath of fresh air from outside his windows, and opened the car doors to jump out and get dowoon.

 

“you’re not staying in the car, bri.” jae said, opening his door rather harshly to fish the younger out. “you’re gonna stand by the car and patrol.”

 

“why should i do that?” brian responded, because he really didn’t feel like hippies should be watching him. it’s kind of rude if you think about it.

 

“because you’re going to die in there if you’re in there. so stop being so angsty and get the fuck out of my car.” the older exaggerated his words.

 

“fine,” brian couldn’t really fight with that. he didn’t really want to start a scene or anything, or disrupt any type of peace things the hippies were doing. but when he reluctantly stepped out of the car, he looked through the open windows. there were a lot of people in there. a lot of them were smoking grass and doing other things he didn’t want to mention.

 

he was glad that he didn’t have to go in there.

 

“alright. you can walk around, but don’t come inside because they don’t know you.” dowoon said, walking towards the house with jae behind him. “meet someone new!”

 

“but there’s no one out-“ the door slammed behind jae rather harshly, and it made brian flinch. “side.”

 

other than the fact he felt disrespected, he could see some people look up at something, it was probably his friends, in excitement. he cursed the windows for being so small, because he would like to start scouting for chicks now. it’s not like there was anything else to do.

 

brian fished a cigarette and lighter out of his jacket pocket, easily putting it in his mouth to take a drag without even realizing. he didn’t like to admit it, but the cigarette helped, and he didn’t understand why marijuana was probably just as helpful for the hippies. but he probably shouldn’t question, because it’s none of his business.

 

standing outside next to a car was starting to get a little boring after a while, and brian finished his smoke a little bit back. he didn’t know when jae and dowoon would be done, so he used all of his willpower to stop leaning against the car and take a walk. who knows, he might find some nice flowers or something.

 

he was walking in the center of the long road, and went out to the areas where there were fields surrounding both sides of the road. he wasn’t far from the house, and he wasn’t very far from a few other houses around here easier. brian still had a good view of jae’s car from here, so he thought it would be fine to go walking into a field. as he walked towards it, he examined the array of yellow flowers next to the house. brian never really had a thing for flowers, as they usually gave him allergies in the fall. his mom loved them for some reason, and he never got it. maybe it’s because the hippies like them so much, brian didn’t know.

 

he made it about ten feet in to the flower field and it was already up to his knees. he did note that in some spots, there were flattened flowers and plants, like some person or animal sat in them. it seemed like a spot where hippies would like to sit in, so brian didn’t question it much. he only began to get suspicious when he could’ve sworn he saw hair poking out from behind a bunch of flowers. it disappeared a second later, and brian only cautiously (and quietly) took a few steps forward.

 

the hair was there again, and he noted that it was a little tousled. it was a warm brown color, and he could see that it wasn’t very long. well, it wasn’t as long as how most hippies wore it. there were also some smaller, yellow flowers decorating it, and brian kind of wanted to laugh at it. but he took more steps forwards, and this time the hair didn’t disappear. it only go closer. and as brian got closer to it, he could see bangs and a pair of eyes popping from behind the flowers. he could also see a pair of ears stick out from under some hair as well.

 

the bangs were hovering messily over the person’s round eyes, so you could only see parts of the warmth each of them held. as brian neared, he could see the eyes way better from there. they were big and dark, holding something brian’s never really indentified in a person before. the supposed hippie had dark eyelashes, and his eyes were shining. they looked different than any eyes brian has seen. they were kind of cute and welcoming, soft and warm as they pulled him in more. brian guessed that the innocence behind them was what made them so intriguing, and it only made him take a few steps more to see what else there was.

 

next thing brian saw was the person’s nose. it was small, kind of in the shape of a button, like how the chicks these days liked to describe them, and it fit the eyes as well. it still radiated this softness that brian’s never really seen before, and he tried to ignore the fact that the person that he was just staring at was now looking back at him. the person below him was probably aware that brian was looking at them now, just not saying anything.

 

brian could see the whole body of the person now, and he could tell that this person was a boy. he had a small smile on his face, and brian could feel he calm aura surrounding it. he felt like he was intruding something, but the boy there was just sitting and staring back at brian, fully aware of his presence. he was wearing a white tee, and long, blue jeans to match with it. he had an array of flowers surrounding him where he sat, but that made sense since they were in a field. there were no other hippies except the boy with flowers in his hair, and brian could tell this one was different.

 

once he realized he’s been looking way too long, he decided to say something.

 

“uh... hi,” brian approached quietly, and the hippie immediately looked away. he was probably embarrassed and it was brian’s fault. damn.

 

“hello.” the boy’s voice was soft, welcoming, just like his presence. it still managed to surprise brian, though.

 

“what are you doing out here?” brian decided to ask, as he felt like the hippie would respond to anything he said.

 

“reminiscing,” he replied while licking his lips, they were a subtle pink color.

 

brian didn’t know what he meant by reminiscing, so he just went along with it.

 

“that’s nice...” he said, “i’m here with a few friends. they’re doing some trading with the people inside. i don’t really like going inside, so i might as well just hang with you.” he was moving a bit too fast for his liking, but he was getting tired of standing.

 

the hippie seemed to accept it, patting a patch of grass next to him. brian took this as an order to sit down. one thing brian noticed about all hippies, is that they are very welcoming to all people, no matter what they are or did. brian found this kind of annoying sometimes, but right now he thought that this hippie was being extremely nice. he kind of felt bad that he hated this, but he took advantage of it in the end anyway.

 

“why don’t you like going inside?” the hippie asked, voice still as soft as it always was. “the people in there are real nice.”

 

“they smoke too much,” brian said, not really shameful about anything he said. “i don’t really get them.... do you smoke?”

 

“no.” the other answered, looking up at brian briefly before looking back down at his hands. he was playing with a flower. “i usually come outside when they do it. i don’t really like drugs, i usually get real sick when i use them. sungjin tells me when they’re all doing it, so i can go outside and sit here and reminisce.”

 

brian could tell this hippie liked to talk. he probably didn’t think brian was listening, but he was. brian didn’t usually listen to chicks when they would blabber on. but anyways, he didn’t really know who this sungjin guy was, but it was probably one of his friends. probably. brian did sense that there was something different about this boy, but he was probably not in any different type of relationship. he tried not to think about it much.

 

“so you don’t smoke,” he brought up instead. “i like that.”

 

brian took a risk, testing his boundaries of how he could talk to his hippie. he knew he could probably say anything to a hippie and they would treat it the most kind way, but he wanted to know how this guy would respond to a semi-flirty message. he hoped he wouldn’t get uncomfortable, but that was an emotion brian’s never seen on a hippie. so brian was more than surprised when the hippie replied with a smile and even a slight pink on his cheeks. that’s when brian knew for sure.

 

“no one’s ever told me that before.” the hippie was still smiling, his voice hintfully bashful and avoiding brian’s whole existence. brian couldn’t help but smile as well, enjoying this whole reaction as a whole.

 

“well, i guess i’m glad to be the first.” brian chuckled lightly, “i’m brian, by the way. what’s your name?”

 

the hippie wasn’t smiling anymore, but the same soft and innocent look was still on his face. brian didn’t mind it, but he caught himself thinking about it more than once.

 

“oh, i’m-“

 

“wonpil!”

 

a voice called suddenly, making brian flip his head over to where the sound was. there was a hippie standing by the door of the house, waving an arm up. he didn’t know who the guy was waving to, so he stood up. he then felt the boy he was talking to run past him, hitting his shoulder lightly as the hippie ran towards the other one. oh, so his name is wonpil.

 

he whispered it to himself. he liked how it sounded.

 

“we’re clearing out right now,” the one taller than wonpil said, and brian began to walk over to the two hippies standing by the house.

 

“alright.” was all wonpil replied with, softly and happily.

 

“who’s this?” the other hippie pointed to brian standing there, looking between him and wonpil curiously.

 

“brian.” wonpil replied, and brian liked the way it sounded when wonpil said it as well.

 

“nice to meet you brian, i’m sungjin.” the stranger politely replied, and that’s when it made sense.

 

“sungjinnie is a really nice friend of mine,” wonpil repeated from before. brian felt a little awkward standing there, so he cleared his throat out a bit before finding something to reply with. he was looking at sungjin with squinted eyes, trying to decipher anything about him. he wondered why it was so easy to figure out things with wonpil, and so difficult with sungjin. he couldn’t figure it out. there was no certain look in his eyes or anything. brian decided to change the topic to himself, not wanting to dwell on sungjin anymore, or the thing wonpil just said.

 

“i’m actually here with two friends of mine,” he explained, “you must’ve seen them inside.”

 

“why didn’t you go inside with them?” sungjin seemed suspicious.

 

“well,” brian couldn’t help but smile a little bit, feeling his ego begin to show, “i don’t really like smoking either.”

 

sungjin was quiet for a moment, looking up and down at brian. wonpil was just standing there, his eyes wide and observing as he saw the conversation going on. the black haired male noted how wonpil looked when he was observant. he could tell that wonpil did it often. be observant, he meant.

 

“then why were you smoking cigarettes in front of your car?”

 

this was one of the things people did that got on brian’s nerves. and the fact that this was a hippie didn’t make it any better. when people didn’t understand that he didn’t want to talk to them, but they still kept asking annoying and personal questions that were none of their business. he was getting a bit irritated, so he just looked straight at sungjin with no expression. he was getting good at that, ever since jae gave him a whole lesson on it. he could tell sungjin was trying to be polite (because when were hippies not nice?), but he couldn’t really take that either.

 

“i’m sorry, sungjinnie, i should be more clear. i don’t like marijuana, but you don’t need to know the reason i smoke cigs. there’s a difference.” brian said clearly, and he wasn’t surprised when sungjin just blinked at his words. there was no sign of him getting upset, no furrow in his brows or squint in his brown eyes. there was just a blink, and maybe more of a softening in his expression. brian didn’t know how he did it. he didn’t know how hippies never got mad at anything.

 

“well, i’m sorry to assume.” sungjin nodded quietly, and wonpil was still looking at the ground in thought. brian tried not to look long enough of study his features. “your friends should be out soon.”

 

“thank you.” brian responded. he could tell that this was when the two hippies would go back inside, probably to never see him again. the thought of not talking to wonpi again made brian feel weird, like he hadn’t learned enough about the boy. he caught a glance at how he was wearing long and baggy blue jeans, and old, awfully dirty white sneakers. his shirt had small colored spots on it, and it was tucked in nicely into his jeans. he was wearing a small bracelet with a peace sign as the only charm, and he truly did look a little better than most hippies these days. his clothes weren’t very obnoxious and he looked good in them. his messy brown hair still had flowers in it, and brian almost smiled to himself again at it. a sudden urge to say something before they walked off overcame him.

 

“wait, wonpil.” he said aloud, smiling as he said it. “i’ll see you around, ok?”

 

wonpil turned his head toward brian, putting on that soft, welcoming smile. just like all the other times before, it was different and brian could read it well. the brunet felt himself getting more used to it, and to acompany that smile, wonpil replied with a light and bubbly, “ok.” before walking off with sungjin, into the house right as jae and dowoon walked out. he was more than satisfied with his free time before they came out, but didn’t want to think about it now. he wantedtry to talk to his friend that looked a little high off his mind.

 

“i smoked some.” jae sounded exhausted. “and we traded.”

 

“good, i’m driving.” brian was still smiling, walking toward the car and trying to ignore the stench coming from jae. he guessed dowoon didn’t have any. that would make sense.

 

“did you meet a chick yet?” dowoon asked, a bag of something in his hand as he sat in the passenger seat next to brian.

 

“i don’t know,” he said, thinking of anyone that could fit fling material. “not yet.”

 

“did you meet sungjin?”

 

“yeah, why?”

 

“he’s an old friend of mine. he visits our town a lot with his crew, and that’s how they knew us. but i don’t think he knows you.” dowoon explained.

 

“makes sense.” the older started the car. “i don’t really like hippies.”

 

“so we’ve heard.”

 

“wipe that smile off your face, bri-bri. you’re in a good mood and it’s making me sick.” jae said slowly from the back, laying with his legs sprawled all throughout the seats, staring at the ceiling.

 

“but don’t actually throw up in here. it’s your car.” brian chuckled, pulling out of the parking spot to go and find another house to go trade from.

 

 

it was going to be a long week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. dowoon is the best character episode two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> somethings happen that weren’t very expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanna eat wonpil’s ass in this fic. also i miss writing dopil WHY did i pick youngfeel rip me whatever i love them too. okay enjoy this shit it’s bad.

 

 

 

a week went by slowly.

 

 

brian tried to remember each day of his long trip since day one, but it was hard. it moved slowly, probably because he didn’t really pay attention to a thing that went on. he just remembered that he didn’t leave the car for a long time. he remembered he went into a house one time. he remembered walking in to a group of chicks doing something in a circle. he remembered a girl flirting with him. he remembered not being interested.

 

he forgot, though, that he had a bet with jae.

 

 

brian had pretty much forgotten the most important things instead of non-important things through his trip. like the yellow flower fields he visited, and the cute boy he met in said field. he was pretty sure he established that flower boy was cute as soon as he began driving after their encounter, so he wasn’t surprised when he referred to this hippie as cute boy. he didn’t even call him by his name, wonpil, or hippie. he didn’t seem too much like a hippie to brian. it was probably because he wasn’t inside the house, wearing intense tie-dye and smoking marijuana.

 

there he goes again. thinking about unimportant things.

 

he really regretted not paying attention when the next saturday rolled around, because jae was holding the largest smirk on his face. that’s exactly when it hit the younger. exactly when he should’ve said yes to that hippie girl a few days back. he knew he fucked up, and jae was about to rub it in his face.

 

“where’s your broad?” jae asked like he was clueless, a coke in his hand. “is she scared or something?”

 

“can it, jae.” brian said bitterly, “i ain’t got a chick with me. i’m sorry.”

 

“sorry won’t do it, bud. you’re riding the volkswagen with dowoon and i from now on.” jae laughed loudly, turning around to face the car and walk to it.

 

the brunet had a sour look on his face. he couldn’t really do anything about it now, since he lost a bet he made. he felt dowoon walk behind him, supportingly wrapping an arm around the older.

 

“ah, that sucks bri.” dowoon said, “don’t worry, though. i’ll let you sit with me on the bus.” he roughly patted his friend’s back before also walking towards the car, jumping in the back seat while jae sat in driver’s.

 

brian felt a little helpless then. he didn’t say anything to defend himself, and he almost didn’t even realize he lost the damn bet because he was too busy thinking about last fucking saturday. last saturday shouldn’t be a constant thing on his mind, but it was just something that kept coming back to his head if he was ever zoning out. and it wasn’t even about the whole day, it was more about the small hour or so he spent in the field. he remembered telling wonpil he’d see him around. he remembered wonpil saying ‘ok’. he still hadn’t seen wonpil since.

 

“brian, get in the car!” jae called from out the window, and the younger wanted to curse himself again. he was thinking about saturday again. and now he was probably going to think more about it, since he had a long drive home ahead of him. he didn’t deserve this. he felt his ego shoot way underground because of the bet, and because of the fact he was thinking about some stupid boy in a field of flowers.

 

closing the passenger door a little harsher than intended, brian sat down in his seat while buckling up. he knew jae was looking at him with a small smile still on his face, and he tried his hardest not to sock him on the nose right there. dowoon was also looking at brian, but with a pitiful look on his face. he seemed to sense that something else was bothering him as well.

 

“what’s the matter, bri?” jae was trying to suppress a laugh, “did you just get dumped?”

 

“can you leave me alone? i’m not having it right now.” brian said firmly, but he winced at how weak his words were. he honestly just wanted to go home and sleep for a good month. there was a moment of silence.

 

“wait, why?” there was an obvious change in the elder’s voice, all playfulness completely gone. jae was being serious now, and brian really didn’t want to start appreciating his friend for actually caring. he should be mad at him. “if this is because of the bet, you don’t have to go on the groovy bus with me. it ain’t my choice for what you want to do-“

 

“no, jae.” brian didn’t let him finish, only because he started to get angry at himself. he felt like he was worrying jae. _fuck_. “it’s not anything to do with the bet, really.”

 

his friends listened, nodding their heads. jae began to start the car, and brian really hoped he wouldn’t ask him what was wrong. he didn’t want to come to terms with himself, and he just wanted to ignore his actual feelings. they weren’t important right now, and we’re more foolish than anything. he tried not to let his heart sink after dowoon asked him what was actually bothering him.

 

brian loved his friends more than anything, but he didn’t know if he could tell them about certain things right now.

 

“i don’t know,” he began quietly, hoping they wouldn’t hear him as they drove. “i’ve been thinking about something lately. it’s making me kind of upset, since it’s stupid and you’d gag at me for it.”

 

“i’m sure we wouldn’t... not if it’s that important to you.” the blonde reassured.

 

“i’m pretty sure it’s not that bad, hyung. you’re always doubting yourself like this.” dowoon added, but he didn’t feel secure enough to tell them.

 

“i’ll tell you guys another time.” he hesitated, feeling more comfortable with that option. “i promise.”

 

his friends didn’t respond, and that left brian feeling a little satisfied. he knew his friends wouldn’t bother him about until he was ready. but right now, he didn’t want to think about it or mention it to his friends. he decided that later would be more comfortable to him, because he was just confused about everything overall. so he sat back and fished a cigarette out of his jacket pocket. maybe riding the hippie bus won’t be as bad as he thought it would be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

they got back home mid-day, parking in front of dowoon’s house and storming inside to examen all of the things they received from about ten hippie joints. brian hasn’t seen any of them yet, but his two friends seemed very excited to show him. he had no idea on what they could possibly be, but he just hoped they didn’t bring home an array of drugs or something.

 

“some of this stuff is kinda dumb,” dowoon said, a small and barely visible smile on his face. “but jae insisted that it would come in handy for the future, or some shit.”

 

brian had low expectations for these objects anyway. he watched as dowoon set down a dozen bags, either paper, plastic, or some material that brian didn’t really know. there were small boxes too, and that just added to the amount of things they could’ve collected. the brunet wondered what the process was like, and thought back to when dowoon and jae walked into the first hippie house. the people inside seemed happy to see them, but he didn’t know if it was like that for every house they went to. brian didn’t really pay attention after the first day. if he were also trading with the flower children, he wondered what he would trade with them. he never really thought the stuff hippies had were cool or useful, and would rather keep his pack of cigarettes for some peace necklaces or something.

 

dowoon opened a paper bag first, pouring out things that looked like small bottles of something. on the inside of the bottles was unknown, and brian didn’t really want to know. each bottle had a bright color on the inside, and he hoped that dowoon wouldn’t open it. the substance inside of the bottle was a liquid.

 

“what is it?” brian asked as he picked up one of the bottles. it was slightly warm, which made him cringe.

 

“paint.” dowoon answered.

 

brian decided not to question it, but more so wondered how the hippies got their hand on such colors of paint. most houses these days were either a grey, white, or a dark color. bright colors like red, blue, pink, or green were only ever seen on the hippie houses. he wondered how they got those colors, and he wondered why they liked painting their houses with them.

 

“it’s the extra stuff from when they painted their house a few months back. they have all of the colors of the rainbow here, except yellow.” jae explained, brian still examining the bottles. the different colors looked pretty distinct, and he just noticed that there was no yellow paint when jae mentioned it.

 

“why no yellow?” brian asked, just a little curious.

 

“sungjin told us that someone wanted to use the rest of it in one of the rooms.” dowoon replied, putting the bottles of paint back in their bag. he shrugged, grabbing another bag and pouring out contents. before brian could ask anymore about the paint, he was being shown more and more items that his friends brought home.

 

he kind of stopped paying attention to that, as well.

 

he felt refreshed for a moment, now that he was home and not in other towns. he was breathing the familiar air of dowoon’s room, a scent that screamed comfort more than anything. dowoon was just turning seventeen soon, but his room still had all types of posters and old things he kept from when he was younger. he still had old liquor bottles under his bed, all empty now. brian remembered when him, jae, and dowoon stole alcohol from the youngest’s dad, spending the night out. they all either made out with girls or messed with other hoods, all going back to dowoon’s house to possibly throw up and pass out. dowoon’s house was a frequent thing, as it was easiest to access and no parents were around at times. brian sometimes wondered if dowoon missed his mom or dad, and if he ever got sad because his mom left him at such a young age.

 

it was hard then, and it happened to be even harder now. they’ve been through so many things, and the brunet even wondered how him and his friends were still alive. dowoon had a reputation in school for things he never did, and everyone practically hated jae. some people assumed brian was into fads no one else was into, like boys and music. truth is, both of those things were true, but no one really knew about them. they could possibly mess up a lot of things for him. especially the liking boys part. because digging a boy that wears yellow flowers in his hair is not something brian wanted to be known for.

 

 

“so i gave her my number. i’m afraid she didn’t know i don’t own a home phone.” dowoon said while he was packing some things. “so i don’t know if she ever called me again.”

 

“great story, dowoon.” jae said sarcastically, and that’s when brian looked up at his two friends. they were messing with the stuff they got from trading, probably expecting brian to be paying attention. the canadian felt a bit bad that he wasn’t, but also didn’t really mind if they hadn’t noticed. he tried to ignore that he associates a certain someone with one of his small insecurities. he tried to hide the fact that this certain someone was on his mind a lot.

 

“what is it, bri?” jae asked suddenly, the oldest eyeing brian a little cautiously. “you look sick.”

 

“i’m alright.” brian reassured, “just thinking about that thing.”

 

there was a pause.

 

“is it really that important?” jae asked, a bit of surprise in his voice. “wait... were you even listening to us?”

 

“not really.” brian shrugged, kind of answering both questions. jae let out a small sigh, he looked impatient.

 

“can you just tell us what’s up now? you’ve been so out of mind lately and it’s kinda annoying.”

 

“hyung,” dowoon said, looking at brian with support in his eyes. “he said she didn’t want to talk about it now.”

 

“no, guys..” brian thought for a moment, but still decided he wasn’t ready. “i’ll tell you when i can. i promised you.”

 

jae was silent. he just nodded, gathering the bags and boxes of things he collected. he seemed understanding, but brian and dowoon both could tell that he really wanted to know about everything. on one hand, brian appreciated that he cared. and on the other, he wished his friend would be patient enough. he was getting more comfortable with himself now, he decided. but still not one hundred percent.

 

 

soon enough, brian walked home and took a well needed nap. he realized how exhausted he was when he reached home, dismissing his mom’s dinner and jumping straight into bed. he was hot, tired, and maybe a little hungry, but just felt that sleeping was the best for now, it would help clear his mind.

 

a small dream danced in the back of his mind, and it became clearer as he slept deeper. he fell slowly, his mind being completely engulfed.

 

 

 

he was in the middle of a meadow. there were yellow things that looked similar to flowers all around him, but they smiled and danced below his feet. he was wearing just a white shirt and black pants, facing a certain direction. wind was blowing, and in the center of the never-ending field, there was a car. an old car. a car that gave brian such a feeling of nostalgia that he felt like walking towards it. he could move his legs, taking small steps and hearing the cries of flowers as he stepped on them. the closer the walked towards the car, the farther it moved. it looked so familiar to him that it made him frustrated. he couldn’t get closer to it somehow, and he felt himself gravitate to it. the flowers were becoming warmer colors, still dancing in the strong wind while it blew brian’s dark hair. he stepped closer and closer, but it kept going farther. before he could take another step forward, everything stopped.

 

 

he woke up, his room pitch black. he was sweating immensely, and his mouth felt parched. it was probably the middle of the night now, and he couldn’t remember anything he just experienced. he just remembered an old car. it was probably something that he’d seen before, since it seemed so familiar. brian didn’t know, but right now he just needed some water and food.

 

brian made his way to the kitchen, grabbing a few things and eating quietly, thinking. he was pretty sure jae was upset, and that made brian feel a little guilty. it wasn’t exactly his fault, it was just jae’s impatient mind. the younger didn’t want to feel that way because he didn’t tell him about his problem, jae was upset. he trusted jae with his everything, it’s just that he wasn’t ready. so why was he feeling guilt?

 

brian was torn with his mind. he just hoped jae would let him in next time he felt ready to talk about his problem. it wasn’t even anything special, so he didn’t know why it’d became such a big deal now.

 

and in conclusion, brian couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

monday came around way quicker than brian anticipated. and mondays were something special, according to jae. they were the days where dowoon would lead an expedition, probably a small one in their area.

 

what that actually means is that they’re just going out today.

 

they’ll be walking around the town, looking at chicks to pick up, places to visit, food to eat, anything they thought was worth their time. today would be no different than the other times they did this, except for the fact that brian felt something off about jae.

 

“i heard there’s a protest nearby.” the eldest mentioned as they walked the busy streets, “wanna go see what’s going on?”

 

“no,” dowoon flat out said, “it’s not a peaceful one.”

 

they continued on, brian wondering what else it could be besides peaceful. there were only peaceful protesters these days, since they were mostly about the hippies and war and stuff that made brian’s head hurt. he wondered how all those peace inducers kept their heads intact during all of this. it was so complex, and that’s another thing that brian disliked about them. they were always so complicated.

 

“what’s the worst they could do?” jae questioned.

 

“i heard they burnt down an abandoned building.” dowoon informed, “but that was in busan.”

 

“right, so they can’t possibly be that wild around here.”

 

“bri’s never been to a protest before.”

 

“and?”

 

“it’s not safe.”

 

brian decided not to interfere in their argument. he realized that they were talking like this a lot lately. brian this, brian that. he felt like he was coming in between them. jae and dowoon were even more opposite than brian was with jae, which probably didn’t sit well with either of them at the moment.

 

“fine. then we’ll ride the groovy bus.” jae grinned, looking at brian with that guile look he always has. the younger felt himself shiver, remembering back when he lost the bet. he almost forgot about that whole week he spent with his friends, even if he only remembered a few things from it.

 

“that’s fine,” dowoon approved, looking over at brian for his approval. he tried to look nonchalant about going on the bus, but it was kind of hard, considering the fact he didn’t know what it was like on one. he tried to picture what hippies would doinside their volkswagen. smoke? play music? do normal things? brian wished he knew, but he could just ask his friends.

 

“what do they even do on there?” he asked.

 

“we just hang out,” jae smiled for the nth time that afternoon, “it digs.”

 

“you know that i can’t trust you with that.” brian retorted, shuffling past a few people to catch up with his friends. just then, another greaser that was probably looking for some trouble, bumped roughly into him. he turned his head to see it was some kid from school, and he could automatically tell who it was. he remembered about a year ago, he beat his ass in a rumble and the kid had a thing against him since then. brian paused to turn around, a dirty grin building onto his face.

 

“hey, you.” he called out, fighting the satisfying fire growing in his chest.

 

the kid kept walking, and brian felt that his friends left already. he’ll probably find them at the record store, anyway.

 

“jaebum,” brian called teasingly, and then the guy turned around. his brown jacket was ripped, not there the last time the brunet saw him.

 

“younghyun.” jaebum greeted bitterly, but his face was trying to be polite. “it’s nice to see you again. i heard you went hippie hunting last week.”

 

“more or less,” brian shrugged, his lips pursing into a tight line. “heard you got your hair cut.”

 

jaebum scowled. he seemed to get a little red in the face, but brian couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or mad.

 

“heard you were into boys.” jaebum quickly said, smirking after only to see brian’s face completely blank. brian had to stand there for a moment, relaying what just happened in his head. so jaebum knows? brian didn’t know how jaebum retained this information, or how he could say it so loud and easily in these busy streets. he wondered if he even heard it. it was a pure lie, sort of, since brian liked whoever he liked. but a sudden nervousness itched in his stomach. how did jaebum know? does everyone know?

 

“so?” brian decided to ask, no point in backing himself up. it would just make him easier to read, the more he thought it over. he had to just try to be as composed as he could while he was conversing with jaebum.

 

“means you can’t tell what’s right from wrong. dumb shit.” jaebum almost turned, as if he was scared of what brian would do next, but the latter just stood there. he felt himself get hotter, angrier, looking at jaebum with the same straight face he’d had on the whole time.

 

“i still beat your ass though,” he muttered, smirking as he looked behind himself. he didn’t want to waste anymore time, turning around and walking into the crowd. he didn’t listen to jaebum and tried not to worry if he came running towards him, but he didn’t. brian swiftly made his way to the record shop with his friends, feeling satisfied with his little argument.

 

 

 

 

“beach boys are so overrated.” jae sighed, placing one of the million records down with the others.

 

“tell me about it. hippies only listen to the beach boys.” brian added, trying to find something that’d he’d been searching for since the summer started. the store owner told him he’d have the latest records in by august, but they still hadn’t come in.

 

“no,” dowoon said, “they listen to the beatles.”

 

“same thing.”

 

“we should get going soon anyway.” jae interrupted, picking up a random ballad record and bringing it up to the the register.

 

“getting a gift for someone?” brian asked.

 

“if you think it’s for some girl, it ain’t. i’m just doing them flower children a favor by heightening their music taste.”

 

“that’s very nice of you, jaehyung.” dowoon said a little sarcastically. “you should at least get them something since you nagged their asses to trade.”

 

“hey, i didn’t nag them. i was being friendly the whole time. they’ll be so happy to see me once i get on that bus.” jae stood pridefully, dowoon rolling his eyes, not bothering to respond.

 

“who’s going to be on the bus?” asked brian, moving with his friends to get out of the store once jae paid. the trio left the area and walked down the street, close to a park where a lot of teeny-boppers and hippies liked to hang out. brian used to hang out in the park all the time, but he hasn’t had it in himself to go for a long time.

 

“i don’t know.” dowoon simply shrugged, brushing his thick black hair out of his eyes. “i guess we’ll have to find out.”

 

 

 

 

the three friends sat on a bench, waiting for the next bus to pick them up. it didn’t seem like it would come soon, so brian laid his head back while staring at the light blue sky. it was pretty, not as bright as he remembered it before. the two others with him were talking quietly about something, probably him, but he didn’t really care to listen. he just wanted to get this whole groovy volkswagen thing over with. but a voice in his head told him that this bus ride wouldn’t be as bad as he thought it would be, and he hoped that this voice was telling him the truth. he didn’t want to be surrounded by old hippies that were doing what old hippies do. he hoped the bus would be a calm ride, one for him to reminisce on.

 

“it’s here.”

 

brian snapped his neck up way too quickly to see his friends calling over a giant volkswagen, and he felt pain shoot up from his nape to his head. he grasped his neck while standing up, walking to his friends that seemed eager to get on the bus. he looked in to see a driver that looked like a hippie, long hair with old looking clothing. he looked rather friendly, so the hesitation that brian had in the pit of his stomach relieved a bit.

 

the doors to the volkswagen opened, dowoon and jae pressuring brian to go on first. the driver watched, laughing and smiling. he asked them something about it being his first ride, and his friends said yes. the driver said that the first rides are always the best, so he had to find a good seat. brian shrugged, feeling that maybe this ride won’t be bad at all.

 

as he stepped on, the first thing that caught his eye were the paintings on the bus walls. they were very pretty paintings, making the bus look like a museum. there were hippies all around the bus, making it seem endless. brian had to bite back a smile, and he didn’t know why he felt so relieved at the moment. it just looked like a bus with people in it, except that all of the people were friends and were enjoying each other. brian found that somehow calming, and the paintings and other things decorating the seats just added to the whole aura as well. brian realized he was standing there for a while, and he should probably sit down soon.

 

“like what you see?” jae wiggled his eyebrows, which made brian instantly frown. he silently punched jae’s shoulder, moving forward to take purposely slow steps down the aisle.

 

he searched for open spots on the bus, but it was kind of hard because everything else was so distracting. there was something to look at everywhere.

 

“brian?”

 

the boy broke out of his thoughts at the sound of his name being called, or more so, questioned. it wasn’t either of his friends calling him, but the voice that said it had a certain familiarity to it that made his stomach twist. he flipped his head toward the sound and saw what he didn’t think he’d ever see. he stood there for a moment, making sure he wasn’t seeing things. it was definitely different, but that just made brian’s smile widen a little more embarrassingly.

 

wonpil, the boy he met more than two weeks ago, was sitting in a seat, hand resting on the open seat next to him. it was like there was a spotlight shining on that open seat, and brian was the only one who could take it. he didn’t know why he felt happy that wonpil, of all people, would be on the bus.

 

“wonpil,” brian greeted, walking over to the seat to sit down comfortably. wonpil’s smile got bigger as he sat down. “it’s been a while.”

 

“you told me you’d see me around,” the hippie shrugged, hands twiddling in his lap. brian saw how different he looked today. no flowers in his hair, even baggier jeans draped over his legs, a pink t-shirt that was five times the size of him, and this time he had on black shoes. his eyes were still the same; wide, dark, and innocent. he looked good today, and brian just had to pry his eyes off of his appearance so that he wouldn’t find him weird.

 

“you’re right.” brian grinned. “i didn’t think i’d see you on here.”

 

“i come on here all the time.” wonpil giggled, and brian might as well have melted at that. it’s only been the second time he’s seen the hippie and he already digs him alright. it’s just that the way wonpil makes a small laugh sound like the most ethereal thing in the world. brian hoped he wasn’t the only one that felt that. “i see your friends often, but they don’t talk to me.”

 

“is that so?” brian was really missing out, then. he looked to see that dowoon and jae were watching them, and he quickly looked back to wonpil, who seemed to avoid eye contact frequently.

 

“yeah.” wonpil said quietly, softly. they slipped into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, brian noticing small little things about wonpil, like how his tongue pokes out from his lips when he’s thinking, and how his leg taps the floor frequently. he must be timid at the moment.

 

“how was your week?” brian decided to ask, but he quickly felt tension between them. he didn’t want to be awkward or anything, but it was kind of hard to not be awkward when his friends were watching them.

 

wonpil pursed his pink lips. “i spent time with the others.” he didn’t seem all too thrilled about that, so brian decided not to ask him about it.

 

“oh, that’s nice...” he winced at his wording, “i went record shopping this morning.”

 

“really?” wonpil lit up a little bit, looking up.

 

“yeah, and jae brought you guys a gift.” brian told the truth. he would’ve said something about himself getting something for the hippies, but not in front of wonpil. he wouldn’t want to lie to the boy.

 

“that’s so sweet of him. bless your souls.” wonpil blushed, playing with the hem of his shirt. it was confusing, wonpil looked so shy but talked so much. brian looked at how wonpil was a little flushed, how his cheeks become pinker and his protruding ears look like they’re broiling. it showed a certain vulnerability to brian, and he hoped wonpil doesn’t get taken advantage of easily. that would be real sad, considering how nice he is. now brian realizes why his friends don’t like beating up hippies.

 

“so... um.” brian suddenly said, “when do you get off?”

 

“whenever.” wonpil shrugged, bottom lip sticking out as he looked out the window. brian could see the hippie’s reflection through the window, seeing how his big eyes curiously eyed the town. “it’s really busy here.”

 

he was pretty sure wonpil was saying that to himself, but brian heard it anyway. he felt like he listened to everything wonpil said.

 

“is yours not?”

 

“mmm,” wonpil hummed, his head clearly going into thinking. “not in my area.”

 

“ah,” brian understood, “you live in a rural area?”

 

“yeah. i don’t have any family other than my sister.” the flower child said calmly, almost too calmly. brian felt a pang in his chest, wondering why wonpil, of all people, lost his family. sure, brian didn’t have a dad, but he was an asshat that probably deserved it in the long run. wonpil doesn’t deserve any of that, especially not having anyone to be there for him. brian knew he looked pitifully at wonpil, and said boy noticed. wonpil turned and noticed that brian looked a little upset, stuttering to reassure him. “i live with my older sister, so it’s not too hard. i also hang out with the hippies, so we’re like family.”

 

“i also have a sister.” brian added, trying to swerve the conversation. “how old are you?”

 

“seventeen.” wonpil answered.

 

“i’m eighteen,” brian smiled, not admitting that he was glad wonpil was younger. “are you in school?”

 

“sometimes.”

 

“what goes?”

 

“i do both night and day school. they let me do it because of things going on.” the younger informed. “do you?”

 

“yeah. i don’t really dig it though.”

 

“hm.” wonpil replied, and brian could’ve sworn he saw the younger male scoot a little closer to him in his seat. he wasn’t looking at brian, his head turned to the window. brian felt his chest bump with that, feeling a little more squished next to wonpil. not that he complained, the boy smelled like pollen and cinnamon.

 

the more brian looked out the window, the more he saw how close he was to his workplace. which was another convenient store close to his house. he worked cashier, and despite it being boring as hell, he made money from it. he realized he had work today, so he’d have to get off soon. not to leave wonpil hanging, he decided to tell him about his leave. maybe wonpil could go with him, sometime.

 

“hey, wonpil-ah,” he said naturally, the boy’s head flipping toward his own. wonpil was chewing on his bottom lip, seeming to be a habit he had or something. brian tried not to look at it, trying to pay attention to the younger’s eyes and to tell him he won’t be able to see him in a few minutes.

 

“yes?”

 

“my stop is coming up soon.” brian said quietly, scared wonpil wouldn’t like that. he hoped wonpil would ask for him to stay, for him to hang out with him for the rest of the day, but wonpil just nodded, lip still worried in his mouth.

 

“but before i go...” brian suddenly said, having the sudden urge to say something more, as he always did. “i have a question.” his mind ran. he didn’t know why he felt a little nervous.

 

“hm?” wonpil hummed cutely, hands still folded in his lap. brian looked down at them, then at wonpil’s face.

 

“i was just wondering...” the black haired male hesitated, breathing in deeply. “if you wanted to go with me?”

 

there was a pause of silence.

 

“what do you mean?” wonpil asked innocently.

 

“like,” brian tried to think of the right words. words that wouldn’t make wonpil uncomfortable or scare him off. he was pretty sure the hippie wouldn’t do that anyway, but he still wanted to be polite. “i want to take you on a date.”

 

he didn’t think wonpil was expecting those words, because brian wasn’t either. the younger boy must’ve tinged in all types of pink, pinker than the shirt he was wearing. he immediately looked down at his hands, a nervous habit, trying to stop the smile from coming on his face. brian watched the dilemma curiously, almost laughing at how embarrassed wonpil was right now. it wasn’t even a big thing, just brian asking wonpil on a date. it might’ve been their second meeting, but brian could’ve worded it better. he should’ve just asked to hang out. damn it.

 

 

“yeah.” wonpil said so quietly, like a whisper. it caught brian off guard, even if it was the smallest voice he’d ever heard from the boy.

 

“really?” brian grinned so hard, waiting for wonpil to look back up at him. “you want to?”

 

“yeah,” wonpil looked up, he looked more calm, but a big, eye scrunching smile took over his face. “why not?”

 

“oh, wow.” brian scratched his nape. “i didn’t expect you to say yes.”

 

“why?”

 

“because we literally just met like two weeks ago and we’re not really friends. also that.. um, you’re a boy.”

 

wonpil giggled. brian was probably blushing by now. he never blushed.

 

“boys are boys.” wonpil shrugged, releasing his lips from his teeth as he said that. he looked so happy, carefree. it made brian happy too, but also feel like a fucking idiot. “girls are girls.” and wonpil couldn’t have said it any better.

 

“so you like boys?” brian asked, trying to not offend wonpil in any way.

 

“yeah. i always have...” wonpil looked away once again, at something that wasn’t brian. brian turned his head toward whatever wonpil was looking at, and he could see a familiar but unfamiliar person sitting in one of the seats. he turned back around quickly to see wonpil looking at him. his hands were twiddling in his lap again.

 

“i guess i have too.” the older added.

 

wonpil hummed, turning his head to look out the window. “are you close here?”

 

“yeah, pretty bad. right?” brian smiled, a little bashful for where he’s from.

 

“i think it’s really nice.” wonpil seemed to disagree, “there’s not many asians in my town. i can’t really fit in with kids at my school because of it.”

 

“hm,” brian nodded, imagining wonpil by himself. it didn’t seem like things like that would happen, apparently they did.

 

“i just have sungjin and the other hippies.” the brunet continued, “but i hope i get along with your friends too. they seem real nice.”

 

“you remind me of one a lot.” brian noted out loud, “you see the one sitting next to the blonde?”

 

“he looks scary,” wonpil laughed.

 

“he’s dowoon. he used to be like you...” brian thought of the old times when brian had just met dowoon. “really talkative, sweet, open to anything.”

 

“i’m sweet?” wonpil asked, his eyes scrunching up again.

 

“yeah,” brian shrugged. “really.”

 

they both sat in comfortable silence again, enjoying their last moments together. brian realized how much dowoon was like this before, but now he’s matured and grown up faster than anyone brian’s met. dowoon realized that reality was hard, and he had to toughen up before he got hurt. maybe that’s why jae and him were so surprised to see him beating in a person’s head in an empty alleyway. brian shivered, trying not to think about those times. when things were just starting to get hard.

 

“wait, hyung.” wonpil suddenly said, seemingly catching on the fact that brian was older. “i don’t have a car.”

 

“and?” brian said, but realized he might’ve sounded a little rude.

 

“i won’t be able to drive on our...” he hesitated, licking his bottom lip timidly. “date.”

 

“oh.” brian breathed out, looking at how wonpil’s ears were red. “i’ll pick you up, then.”

 

“when?”

 

the latter thought of days he would be available. he had work for the rest of the week, but he got off early next friday. which meant he could probably take wonpil to a nice drive-in. they always had double features on fridays. free popcorn... cokes...

 

“next friday.” brian said, smirking. he looked at wonpil’s smile, one that showed every single one of his teeth, and felt his heart beat even more faster than before.

 

“i’m free that day.” wonpil informed.

 

“good. i’ll see you then?” brian looked to see his stop was only a few feet away, and he suddenly felt a little sad he won’t see wonpil for another week and a half. maybe they could see each other on the streets, or something. the brunet nodded at him, his wide eyes glinting at him.

 

he looked at how wonpil’s legs kicked cutely under his seat, like a small child. it made brian want to fight the ever growing smile on his face even more, and he was so glad he asked wonpil on a date today more than any other. he was glad he went on the volkswagen, glad that he was able to see and learn more about the younger.

 

the bus stopped, brian and dowoon’s stop, and brian felt like grabbing wonpil’s hand.

 

“i’ll see you around, brian.” wonpil smiled, then bit his lip, waving to the older with a calm and happy look on his face. it seemed like eternity when brian began to walk down the aisle to exit the bus, eyes never off wonpil as he did so.

 

dowoon and brian both collided while the older wasn’t looking, and the younger scoffed as he walked off the bus. brian shortly followed after, smile faltering as he looked to see wonpil look out the window once again. that was probably one of the weirdest bus ride’s brian’s ever been on.

 

“hey, we’re here.” dowoon’s deep voice interrupted brian’s trance. he’d been distracted the whole time. “let’s get this shift over with.”

 

brian silently agreed, walking up to the old convenient store with his friend to go in and probably run it by themselves. their manager wasn’t around usually, so they could have the place to themselves most of the time. that meant playing the used records and eating the snacks on the shelves. they practically weren’t allowed to do it, but no one noticed.

 

dowoon opened the door to an empty store, as it usually was, and the two made their way to make it look like it was open. they sat in the back room together, dowoon taking out a cigarette and looking at something random on the wall.

 

“dowoon,” brian suddenly said for the first time in a few minutes. “what do you think about, usually?”

 

dowoon turned to look at the older, puffing smoke out of his mouth. his arm veins looked extra pulsed today, which meant he probably was working out more recently.

 

“i don’t know.” he shrugged, giving the most vague answer anyone could give. “what goes?”

 

“like...” brian let his mind speak for him. “do you like anyone? like, besides jae and i?”

 

“first of all, i don’t like jaehyung.” dowoon noted, pointing his blunt at brian. his expression was straight, but brian could tell he was joking. “and sometimes.”

 

“why sometimes?”

 

“i don’t really feel for anyone deeply. just sometimes i get a little kick in my gut. i don’t dig anyone because i honestly don’t know who i like. i don’t know if i like a chick or a guy. i haven’t known nothing since the night i got my head smashed in by my old lady.” dowoon said, pinching the burnt side of the cig before squashing it on the ground.

 

brian was silent. he’d never known much about dowoon, other than the fact that he changed into a completely different person in the span of one night. it gave brian the chills, and some sort of sick feeling in his stomach. he felt bad. he searched for some type of sadness or feeling in dowoon’s black eyes, but all he saw was a careless still look. he thought back to when he compared dowoon to wonpil, and realized how much different they were. how dowoon used to have the same exact look of innocence and welcome in his eyes. now brian knew. things were different.

 

“what about you, bri? do you like anyone?”

 

good thing that dowoon brought that up, because the brunet was starting to lose his mind in whatever thing they were talking about. but the sudden question about liking someone made his heart want to burst out of his chest. he didn’t know why, but he felt so nervous to say anything about it. he didn’t know if he liked anyone, he just felt interested, maybe.

 

“you know...” he began, letting his mind speak for him once again. “you know those hippies? the ones we met last saturday?”

 

“sure.” dowoon shrugged.

 

“i didn’t tell you or jae this, but i think i trust you with my life more than him.” brian laughed weakly to himself, feeling his hands get sweaty. to his surprise, dowoon laughed a little too, a slightly new sound to the older.

 

“i basically met one hippie that day. he was sitting in the flowers, looking all dainty and shit.” brian remembered the day just as how he described it. it was one thing that frequented on his mind.

 

“yeah?” dowoon was smiling lightly.

 

“yeah. his name is wonpil, and i met him on the bus today too. we talked and i like talking to him. he’s easy to talk to.” brian rambled on a little, not noticing dowoon’s slightly knowing look. he was looking at his hands, a small unnoticeable smile on his face. well, at least he didn’t notice it.

 

“kim wonpil?” dowoon asked as if he knew, and brian looked up to see his friend squinting. “what about him, hyung?”

 

“i think...” brian felt his heart skip a few beats, his hands now almost shaking. almost. he didn’t know how he would say it. he didn’t know if he could say it. he didn’t know what he was going to say. he was just going to let his mind decide for him, and he felt his chest tighten at how long he was holding his breath. he was just talking to dowoon, no big deal. except it was something he was unfamiliar with, this new feeling. he exhaled, feeling his mouth form words on their own.

 

 

“i think i like wonpil.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyways stream chocolate! also congrats to day6 on their first win!! i’m so proud of them :,)


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